Guide · Live chat
Leave-a-message done well: offline chat customers trust
In short
When nobody can answer, a chat should become a short form: say why, ask only for what you need to reply, take the message and a file if they have one, and give a reference. Then make each message a ticket with an owner, and answer it before the customer has to chase.
Reviewed 9 November 2026. Terms used: Ticketing system, WhatsApp 24-hour window.
Seven steps to leave-a-message that works
The form is the easy part. What matters is what happens to the message after it’s sent.
Decide when to offer it
There are three moments: you’re closed, you’re open but nobody is online, or the queue is full or has kept someone waiting too long. Offer it in all three, with words that say which one it is. “We’re closed right now” tells the visitor more than “Offline”.
Ask only for what you need to reply
A name, an email or a phone number, and the message. If the visitor already gave a name and email before the chat, fill them in. Make the message and one way to reply the only required fields.
Let people attach a file
A photo of a broken part, an invoice, a screenshot of an error: one file often saves a day of back and forth. Allow a few.
Confirm it with a reference
After sending, show that it worked and give a reference they can quote. Say when you’ll reply in terms of your hours (“tomorrow from 9 am”), not “soon”.
Do the same on WhatsApp
WhatsApp has no form, so ask in a message, take the customer’s next message as the request, and thank them with the reference. Send the closed message once per closed period, not after every message they send. You already have their number and profile name, so don’t ask for them again.
The WhatsApp version Business: We’re closed until tomorrow at 9 am. Write your question here and we’ll reply when we open.
Customer: The legs on my new dining chairs wobble. Can someone check them?
Business: Thanks, we’ve got it. Your reference is TKT-1290.
Turn every message into a ticket with an owner
Set the category, the priority and who gets it, so the morning starts sorted. Email or alert the people who should see it, and link the chat so nobody asks the customer to repeat it.
Reply first, and count them
Answer left messages before the morning’s new chats. On WhatsApp, a reply within 24 hours of the customer’s message can be a normal message; after that you need an approved template.
Count how many come in, from which channel and at which moment. If most arrive while you’re open, you need more people on chat, not a better form.
How it works in Axonave
The form, the WhatsApp prompt and the ticket, set per channel.
In Axonave each web chat widget and WhatsApp number decides when to offer leave-a-message: when you’re closed, when nobody is online, or when the queue gives up. On the web the widget opens on a form with the pre-chat name, email and phone filled in, the message, an email or a phone, and up to five files, then shows “Message sent” with the ticket’s reference. On WhatsApp the customer gets your prompt, their next message is taken, and your thanks carries the reference. Each message becomes a ticket with the category, priority, assignee and tags you set, with the chat linked, and an email or a bell goes to the people you name.
- A Leave a message step for chatbot flows too
- History filters chats that ended with a left message
- Reports → Left messages, by moment and by channel
Teras Home’s website chat in our demo workspace while it’s closed: the form opens instead of a chat, filled in here by a visitor. Sending it makes a ticket and shows “Message sent” with the reference.
Common questions
Does the customer get a copy?
Yes, when the channel’s acknowledgement is on: the customer is told their message arrived, with the reference.
Can a chatbot take the message instead?
Yes. A Leave a message step in a flow asks only for the name, email or phone it doesn’t already have, takes the message, and makes the ticket or sends the email you set. The After hours starter flow already has one.
Which plans have leave-a-message?
Every plan. It comes with Chat, which Basic and Pro both include.
See it working with your own customers.
We reply within one business day by email or WhatsApp.